NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Matt Hagan will arrive at historic Auto Club Raceway in Pomona for this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals with an impressive list of accomplishments during his 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and a shot – albeit a long one – to win his third career Funny Car world championship.

But trailing Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps by 86 points, Hagan knows he would need one of the most fortunate weekends in class history in his 10,000-horsepower Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T to deny Capps his first career world title. A few different results during the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship might have meant a different story, but Hagan can also appreciate the type of season Capps has enjoyed leading into the 2016 finale.

“Honestly, it’s a long shot and we know that,” Hagan said. “If we would have won Vegas, then maybe we roll in with a licking our chops-type feeling, but it’s a tall order now. There’s some rounds in the Countdown that just didn’t go our way. At the end of the day, I want it to be me (that wins a championship), but if it can’t be me, I’m glad it’s Capps. He was one of the first guys who picked up the phone when I joined DSR. The dude is genuine and legit, and hats off to them, they’ve done a great job all year.”

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Del Worsham (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event that will air for the first time on FOX Sports 1. On Sunday, FS1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage starting at 4 p.m. (ET). It is the final race of a 2016 season that checked off almost all the boxes for Hagan, a 22-time event winner in Funny Car.

The world championship might have slipped out of Hagan’s grasp with a handful of close losses in the Countdown to the Championship, but he also won four times, including his first Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, and set both ends of the national record (3.822 seconds and 335.57 mph). He’s also part of a DSR group that includes Capps, Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr. that could finish in the top four spots in points.

“We’ve basically dominated Funny Car and that’s what Don wants,” said Hagan, who has four of DSR’s 13 Funny Car wins in 2016. “You can’t ask for anything more that. For us, it’s not been a bad year. Winning the U.S. Nationals is a feather in our cap and we’ve got a real strong shot at finishing second with a possibility for first. We just never hit that point where we dominated. But I’m super proud of every one of these guys and we have nothing to hang our heads about. Everyone here gave 100 percent all season.”

Hagan continued to mesh almost flawlessly with crew chief Dickie Venables this season, providing another strong result for a duo that has finished fifth, first and second over the past three seasons. Their performance took another step forward in 2016, which gives the team more positive signs for 2017. But Hagan also has designs on closing out this season with a victory in Pomona, which is one reason why Capps isn’t celebrating anything yet, even with a big points lead.

“It’s certainly not a done deal,” said Capps, who has five wins and 10 final round appearances in 2016. “It's by far not over. We still need to get there and do our business and clinch it. I've seen some pretty miraculous things happen at Pomona over the years, and we definitely don't want to be one of those statistics.”
 
Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying feature two rounds at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, and two final qualifying rounds on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
  
Tickets are available at NHRA.com/tickets or by calling 1-800-884-NHRA. Kids 12 & under can see it all for free with a general admission ticket, while all students can save 50 percent on general admission at the gate with a student ID.